Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Israeli warships open fire at fishermen off Gaza coast

Published yesterday (updated) 02/09/2014 21:24

(MaanImages/File)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) --
Israeli forces opened fire at fishermen off the coast of the southern
Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in apparent violation of the ceasefire agreement
reached with Palestinian factions a week ago, fishermen said.

Palestinian
fishermen told Ma'an that Israeli warships used machine guns to fire at
their boats while they were sailing within the agreed-upon
six-nautical-mile limit near Rafah.

No injuries were reported.

An
Israeli army spokeswoman said fishermen "deviated from the designated
fishing zone," and that navy soldiers fired warning shots into the air.

The fishermen then "backed away," the spokeswoman said.

Asked
how far the fishermen were sailing from shore, the spokeswoman said she
did not know the exact distance, but that it was further than six
nautical miles.

Prior the recent agreement, Israeli forces
maintained a limit of three nautical miles on all Gaza fishermen,
opening fire at fishermen who strayed further, despite earlier Israeli
agreements which had settled on a 20-mile limit. The restrictions
crippled Gaza's fishing industry and impoverished local fishermen.

A
ceasefire agreement reached on Aug. 26 stipulated that Israel would
immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza's coast, allowing fishermen
to sail as many as six nautical miles from shore, and would continue to
expand the area gradually. Under the terms of the deal, Israel also
agreed to ease its siege on the coastal enclave.

Other
unresolved issues such as the construction of a seaport and airport, the
release of prisoners, and the demilitarization of factions in Gaza were
to be negotiated a month later in Cairo.

Israel's assault on
Gaza lasted seven weeks, left over 2,100 Palestinians dead and over
11,000 injured, the vast majority of them civilians. Some 71 Israelis
also died in the fighting, 66 of them soldiers.